BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — They still embrace their roles as underdogs, but the Philadelphia Eagles wore a different look on Wednesday.

They faced the media wearing luchador-style wrestling masks.

Defensive linemen Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham did, at least.

“This was a gift,” explained Cox. “A guy from Mexico gave me this so I have super powers all week. I bought in, 100%. So now I have super powers.”

Much of the outside world is thinking he and his Eagles teammates will need all the help they can get to knock off the mighty New England Patriots, who have won two of the last three Super Bowls and a total of five in the last 16 years.

But the Eagles aren’t simply fighting mystique with mystique. They know that to beat the Pats, they’ll need to get Tom Brady off his game.

This is where Cox and the D-line come in.

“We’ve just got to go out and play our ball, man,” said Cox. “I think it’s going to come down to the front four guys, us being able to get after the quarterback with four, not having (defensive coordinator) Jim (Schwartz) blitz all the time. Because honestly, as a D-line, we kind of get selfish when we get a blitz call.

“At the same time, we know that he has to switch things up to bring a little pressure. But we’re just going to be doing what we’ve been doing all year, with four guys getting after the quarterback relentlessly.”

Cox giggled when asked if he realized what it would mean to to the city of Philadelphia to have its first Super Bowl championship. Then he began to talk like it was a done deal.

“It’s going to be great, man, it’s going to be great. The city has been waiting for this moment,” he said, before a quick back-pedal. “We’re just going to go out Sunday …. we’re playing a really, really good football team, and its going to be a really good game.”

Vegas oddsmakers moved the line slightly this week, with the Pats down a half point to minus-4. But the Eagles, who are 15-3 since the season started, were also underdogs when they played home playoff games against the Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings.

They celebrated the role by wearing dog masks, and they still enjoy the idea of proving doubters wrong.

“Absolutely,” said Cox. “We just keep stacking the chips. We’re just stacking a chip on our shoulder every week.”

In the meantime, they are enjoying themselves in Minnesota.

Disguised in wrestling masks.

“We all know football is serious,” said Cox. “I’m just having fun right now and being professional at the same time. We know why we’re here. We’re here to play a football game. Obviously we can’t come into this thing all uptight. We’ve played a football game before. The thing about having fun is you have fun when it’s time to have fun, and you get serious and locked into your job when it’s time to do that.”

Cox was asked if he’d try to intimidate Brady by wearing the wrestling mask on Sunday.

“Nah,” he said, giggling again. “I’ve got to have a helmet on.”

IN OTHER WORDS

According to SeatGeek.com, the average resale price of Super Bowl tickets online is up to US$5,612, with 24% of shoppers coming from Boston. The “leading mobile-focused ticket platform” was expecting most of the Canadian traffic to its website would come from Manitoba, but right now the northern interest is being led by Ontario (46%), Alberta (14%) and Quebec (11%) … Eagles coach Doug Pederson celebrated his 50th birthday on Wednesday with his football team and his wife, not necessarily in that order. Other family members will be coming to Minnesota later in the week. “If somehow we can pull out a victory (Sunday), that would be the icing on the cake, as they say,” said Pederson … To a man, the Eagles talk of the love they have for the team, much of which originates from the “genuine” Pederson. “You see different guys from different position groups hanging out with each other,” said Cox. “When you see that, it’s really special. Like, I would go eat dinner with Donnie Jones. Not too many people would eat dinner with a punter, let’s be honest. Things like that brings a team so much closer.” … Apparently, they’ve been able to institute a policy at those dinners families everywhere are trying to adopt in their own homes. “It’s really great when you have that one hour ‘no phone’ rule,” said Cox. “Ah man, just keep everybody around the table actually talking to each other and not having 13 or 14 men out to dinner with everybody’s heads down on their phone.”

EXTRA POINTS

Pederson confirmed he’ll have two-time Super Bowl champion Brett Favre address the team during Saturday’s morning meeting. “I know Brett’s going to be here, he’s got some obligations he’s going to do this week,” said Pederson. “He and I still stay in touch. We’re great friends. We were teammates for eight years in Green Bay. I figured since he’s going to be in town, I’d just ask him. He’s just going to stop by the hotel and visit with the guys.” Quarterback Nick Foles is looking forward to Favre’s drop-by. “He’s one of the greatest to ever play the game,” said Foles. “Just his style of play, his toughness … he is a true gunslinger. He’s been there, he’s won the big games, he’s played a lot, a lot of football. Any time you have an opportunity to listen to someone like him speak, it’s huge. I can’t wait to listen to what knowledge and wisdom he gives us. And I know everyone on our team will be excited to hear him speak.” … The Super Bowl committee threw a phenomenal party called the “Media Thaw Out,” on Tuesday night at the Nickelodeon amusement park inside Mall of America. Along with live entertainment, rides, games and drinks, there was plenty of food. In one hour, I may have sampled the crusted asparagus, walleye on a bun, spiced chicken balls, steak on a stick, deviled eggs, bacon-wrapped meatloaf and perhaps the best sushi I’ve ever tasted. I’ll get back to the training program on Monday.

This Week's Flyers

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.